Attachment to invalid-beds.



T 1. H. LEAL.

ATTACHMENT T0 INVALID BEDS.

*APPLICATION HLED MAR. 28| QT. s V 1,222,873. Paented Apr. 17, 1917.

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JOSEPH H. LEAL, orsA'N FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

' ATTACHMENT TO INVALID-BEDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

r atenten npr. 17', 1917.'

Application filed March 28, 1916. Serial No. 87,173.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH II. LEAL, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Attachments to Invalid-Beds, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in invalid beds.

Invalid beds are at present constructed and are now in general use such that the head portion thereof can be raised to an inclined position, but it entails great exertion on the part of the nurse, and often requires the efforts of two nurses, to so raise the head of the bed while the patient is lying thereon.

The object of the present invention is to provide an attachment to invalid beds by which this labor will be avoided.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side view of an invalid bed equipped with my improvement; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, the mattress being broken away; Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the attachment; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 5 is a broken sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a bedstead and 2 a mattress thereon. In the side rails 3 of the bedstead are pivoted, as shown at 4, side pieces 6 of a yoke 7 having secured thereto a woven wire support 8 extending beneath the mattress at the head of the bed. By raising said yoke 7 and support 8, the mattress can also be raised. All of the above forms no part of my present invention but relates to the invalid bed now in general use.

My attachment thereto comprises a plate 9 secured to each side rail 3 by clamps 11, which are secured to said plate by screws 12 screwed through the clamps and entering sockets 13 in the plate. Extending through said plate is a shaft 14 secured to an arm 16 on the inner side of said plate, said arm carrying at its outer end a stud 17 on which is a roller 18 adapted to roll against the under side of the side piece 6. Said shaft is formed, on the outer side of said plate, with a radially extending groove 19, in which is contained the inner end of a spring 21 coiled around the shaft, and the outer end of which is held stationary by means of a bolt 22 extending through a hole in the spring and also through a holel in a boss 23 1n the plate, there being screwed upon the threaded outer end of the bolt a 'thumb nut 24. The head 26 of the bolt presses against tl .e outer end of the spring, and thereforeby screwing up. the-thumb nut the tension 3f the spring may be increased. If desir ed,'.the spring may be covered, as shown in Fig. 4, by a plate 27 secured to the shaft 14 by screws 29.

The spring is coiled in such a direction about the shaft that the tension of the spring tends to turn the shaft to move the arm 16 from a position shown in full lines j in Fig. 1 to that shown in dotted lines,the tension of the sp ring being by such movement diminished. Consequently the tensions of the two springs, one on each side of the bed, assist in raising the patient.

In order to hold the yoke at rest in any one of a series of positions to which it is moved, there is secured upon one side piece 6 a sleeve 31 hav ing extending therefrom a series of pins 32 spaced from each other at such a distance tiat a finger 33, pivoted, as shown at 34, on t 1e outer side of the arm 16, exactly fits between two adjacent pins.

As a positive neans for limiting the extreme upward movement of the yoke, there are formed, upon the inner sides of the plates 9, lugs 36 which are engaged by the arms 16 in their upward movement. Also as a positive lc ck preventing the sprin from raising the mattress, there is rovide at the center of the head of the be a catch 37 actuated by :i spring 38 which engages the central portion of the yoke 7 I am aware th at it is not new to provide a spring for raising a swingin support yat the head of an invalid bed, an I'make no claim for such invention broadly, but I am the first, so far as I am aware, toprovide devices which can be attached to the ordinary invalid bec'. now in general use without any alterati )n thereof to perform the above purpose oi assisting the raising of the upper portion oi the mattress of an invalid bed.

I claim 1. In combination with a bedstead and a head support comprising side pieces pivoted on its side rails, plates removably secured to said side rails, a shaft extending through each plate, an arm carried on one end of each shaft, a roler carried by the outer end of each arm and engaging the corresponding side piece, a spring coiled around the shaft, its inner end being secured to the shaft, means for securing the 'outer end of the spring to the plate and means carried by said plate for limiting the upward swing- -ing movement ,of said arm.

the shaft, its inner end beingseoured to vthe shaft, meansl for securing the outer end of the spring `to the plate, a sleeve removably secured -ai'ound'one'of said side pieces, pins extending from said sleeve and spaced at proper intervals apart, and a finger pivoted 20 on one of said arms and adapte tol engage said pins* to limit the movement 'o'f the side pieces.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the `fpresfsmoe of two .subscribing 25 witnesses.

JOSEPH' H. LEAL. Witnesses:

F. N. WRIGHT,

D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent Amay be obtained for ve cents each, by laddressing the Commissioner of .Patents Washington, D. -C. 

